MAPIC 2014: Interview with Nathalie Depetro, MAPIC Director

 

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of MAPIC, from 19th to 21st November 2014, Nathalie Depetro, Director of MAPIC, was glad to share her thoughts with the audience of REBEC and AG Real Estate on the development of MAPIC,  projects in the retail sector, the region of Southeast Europe (SEE) ...
 


What will make this year’s MAPIC memorable, apart from its 20^th anniversary?
 
MAPIC is the international business platform where retailers can find a large range of sites where they can develop on an international scale. MAPIC will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. A dedicated programme will give the opportunity to look back over two decades of retail property and look forward to the years ahead. 
MAPIC will also have a special focus on the USA and China, two countries which have made their mark on the retail real estate business: the USA which has been both a pace-setter and a leader in retail property and distribution for decades and China which is experiencing growth at an exponential rate. Both countries will be well represented at MAPIC with heavyweight companies such as American Management, Thor Properties, General Growth Properties from the USA and two major players for China, Wanda and Jihua group. 
MAPIC is also strengthening its international position with the attendance of new developers from all around the world such as United Developers from Qatar, American Management from the USA, the Prague Outlet from the Czech Republic, Essence Development from Russia and Unibail Rodamco from France that will showcase their latest projects.  
Retail real estate industry players are always looking for new ideas and new territories to conquer. MAPIC will welcome new players from the digital industry but also from retailtainment, a business segment which is boosting the development of the new generation of shopping centres. The concept of ‘retailtainment,’ combining business with leisure, is constantly expanding and will be one of the key topics at MAPIC. A dedicated pavilion will bring together some of these new players in the industry such as Re-Play (Italy) specialising in children's digital games, A.i. Solve (UK), AM teg (Portugal), Aerodium (Latvia) and Jora Vision (Netherlands).

Also in the spotlight this year, the emergence of new technologies and how innovative digital tools can help retail real estate players to both monitor and interact with their customers. A series of digital players including the Swedish startup Bumbee Labs, the British ShopperTrak, the French WiSEED and Publicis Shopper will will present their innovations to retail real estate profesionals.

 


In your opinion, what is the key information or advantage that every project in the retail sector should have, so that it can be characterized as good enough for the investment implementation to be started?
 
Several elements are important for the success of a retail real estate project and therefore for investors. First of all, like all real estate projects, the location is key. A good project has to be well connected to a large customer catchment area, near a transit hub or a railway station for instance, to be able to generate traffic. Current shopping centre projects also need to meet the new requirements of consumers and monitor new trends such as retailtainment or digital as I mentioned earlier. A wide range of innovative projects are showcased at MAPIC.

For example Mall of Europe in Brussels, presented by Unibail-Rodamco, will include the first indoor “Spirouland” in the world, the Jihua Park Changchun in China will offer sports facilities such as skiing, freefalling, free climbing and surfing and American Dream presented by Triple Five, will feature a DreamWorks theme park and water park. The facilities don’t always need to be so impressive but it’s important that each project has its own personality.

 
MAPIC was launched in 1995 and welcomed at that time 1604 participants including 221 retailers from 30 countries. It has known steady growth, exceeding 5,000 participants in 2002 and reaching a record number of over 10,000 delegates in 2007. MAPIC was hit by the global economic downturn in 2009 but after that, attendance levels grew again. This year, 8,400 participants including 2,400 retailers attended MAPIC and 500 retail brands came for the first time which is a real success.

 
A certain structure of REED MIDEM professionals is engaged both for MIPIM and MAPIC events, as well as for MIPIM Asia, MIPIM Japan and this year’s premiere of MIPIM UK.
Do you think that these events could have the prefix of MAPIC, especially on the markets of Asia and UK, having in mind its origins?
 
The growth of disposable income in China has led to a boom in retail business and a surge in the development of world-class shopping malls throughout the country. The strong demand from Chinese customers for international brands coincides with these brands’ desire to enter the dynamic Chinese market. Therefore Reed MIDEM is going to launch a new retail real estate event in Shanghai in June 11-12, 2015.
The new ‘Retail Real Estate Market (RREM) brought by MAPIC,’ will be a two-day business, conference and networking event designed  to bring together international and regional retail brands with Chinese shopping mall developers operating in China.
  
Do you think that MAPIC in Europe has any competition at all, and if yes, based on what criteria related to the development of retail sector?
What the situation is with MAPIC worldwide when it comes to possible competition, for example the in the USA?
 

Since its launch 20 years ago, MAPIC has remained the leading international gathering for decision makers in retail real estate and retailing. No other show in Europe or in the world, brings together such a high number of international retailers. Another key element which makes MAPIC unique is that its exhibitors cover a wide range of property including shopping centres, city centres, factory outlets, leisure areas and transit zones. Therefore MAPIC keeps increasing, welcoming each year new retail real estate companies interested in boosting their development.

  
How would you mark SEE region when it comes to further development of the retail sector?
 
In my opinion, South East Europe region is a market with high potential. The main cities of the region keep growing over the years and, driven by the young generation, consumers are well informed about the international brands and are increasingly demanding new retailers in their countries. Therefore, the challenge for retailers to come to the SEE region is to find adequate locations for their stores. 
This year, Serbia was represented at MAPIC with five companies, one publication and four retail real estate professionals – Balkans Real Estate, Confluence Property Management, Delta Real Estate and Overmax Co. – that showcased their new shopping centre projects. In the same way, Croatia was represented by four companies: Roses Designer Outlet, Trgovacki Centar Zagreb D.O.O., Dornativa Commercial Property C&S, InKe D.O.O., CBRE Croatia. SEE retailers were also present at MAPIC with Fashion Group, a Macedonian master franchise representing over 20 brands including Desigual, Diesel, Guess, Levi’s, Mango and UGG.

  
In your opinion, what should be done in order to increase the numbers and quality of the SEE market? How to encourage SEE participants?
 
MAPIC is the only international event every year that brings together retailers and real estate professionals to meet and exchange and most importantly, do business. It is important for SEE countries to take part in MAPIC in order to gain visibility for themselves but also of the market. On one hand, the participation of companies from SEE is a great opportunity to present to the international retail real estate community a new developing destination and to show investors new investment opportunities. On another hand, SEE countries can learn at MAPIC all the latest trends of the market and more particularly discover which retailers are interested in developing in their country. We are confident that the presence of SEE at MAPIC will grow in the coming years and that they will be represented not only as visitors but also as exhibitors.
 

What is your recommendation for the professionals in Serbia? How could they exceed their record in 2008, both in terms of visitors and exhibitors?
 
At MAPIC you can build relationships directly with your potential clients and partners. My best advice to retail real estate professionals from Serbia would be to take advantage of all the tools MAPIC offers to its clients (online database, MAPIC app, business lunches, pitching sessions, etc.) to promote their business to the international markets and develop a better awareness of the opportunities they can find in Serbia.